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The Liminality of Trajectory Shifts in Institutional Entrepreneurship

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  • Ola Henfridsson

    (Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom)

  • Youngjin Yoo

    (Fox School of Business, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122)

Abstract

In this paper, we develop a process model of trajectory shifts in institutional entrepreneurship. We focus on the liminal periods experienced by institutional entrepreneurs when they, unlike the rest of the organization, recognize limits in the present and seek to shift a familiar past into an unfamiliar and uncertain future. Such periods involve a situation where the new possible future, not yet fully formed, exists side-by-side with established innovation trajectories. Trajectory shifts are moments of truth for institutional entrepreneurs, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms of how entrepreneurs reflectively deal with liminality to conceive and bring forth new innovation trajectories. Our in-depth case study research at CarCorp traces three such mechanisms (reflective dissension, imaginative projection, and eliminatory exploration) and builds the basis for understanding the liminality of trajectory shifts. The paper offers theoretical implications for the institutional entrepreneurship literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Ola Henfridsson & Youngjin Yoo, 2014. "The Liminality of Trajectory Shifts in Institutional Entrepreneurship," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(3), pages 932-950, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:25:y:2014:i:3:p:932-950
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2013.0883
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    7. Aarstad, Jarle & Kvitastein, Olav A. & Jakobsen, Stig-Erik, 2016. "Related and unrelated variety as regional drivers of enterprise productivity and innovation: A multilevel study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 844-856.
    8. Zibiao Li & Han Li & Siwei Wang, 2022. "How Multidimensional Digital Empowerment Affects Technology Innovation Performance: The Moderating Effect of Adaptability to Technology Embedding," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-27, November.
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    10. Linda Weidenstedt & Andrea Geissinger & Birgit Leick & Nabeel Nazeer, 2024. "Betwixt and between: Triple liminality and liminal agency in the Swedish gig economy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(4), pages 1280-1297, June.
    11. Liu, Yang & Dong, Jiuyu & Mei, Liang & Shen, Rui, 2023. "Digital innovation and performance of manufacturing firms: An affordance perspective," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    12. Raghu Garud & Arun Kumaraswamy & Anna Roberts & Le Xu, 2022. "Liminal movement by digital platform‐based sharing economy ventures: The case of Uber Technologies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 447-475, March.
    13. Eivor Oborn & Michael Barrett & Wanda Orlikowski & Anna Kim, 2019. "Trajectory Dynamics in Innovation: Developing and Transforming a Mobile Money Service Across Time and Place," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(5), pages 1097-1123, September.
    14. Stephanie Birkner, 2020. "To belong or not to belong, that is the question?! Explorative insights on liminal gender states within women’s STEMpreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 115-136, March.
    15. Andrew Page & Jonny Holmström, 2023. "Enablers and inhibitors of digital startup evolution: a multi-case study of Swedish business incubators," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-28, December.
    16. Aljona Zorina & William H. Dutton, 2021. "Theorizing Actor Interactions Shaping Innovation in Digital Infrastructures: The Case of Residential Internet Development in Belarus," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(1), pages 156-180, January.
    17. Mina Nasiri & Minna Saunila & Juhani Ukko & Tero Rantala & Hannu Rantanen, 2023. "Shaping Digital Innovation Via Digital-related Capabilities," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 1063-1080, June.
    18. Vijayta Doshi, 2022. "Experiencing liminality: At the crossroads of neoliberal and gendered experiences," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 1132-1148, July.
    19. Frederik von Briel & Per Davidsson & Jan Recker, 2018. "Digital Technologies as External Enablers of New Venture Creation in the IT Hardware Sector," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(1), pages 47-69, January.
    20. Julian Lehmann & Jan Recker, 2022. "Offerings That are “Ever-in-the-Making”," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 64(1), pages 69-89, February.
    21. Lena Kessel & Lorenz Graf-Vlachy, 2022. "Chief digital officers: the state of the art and the road ahead," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(4), pages 1249-1286, December.
    22. Garcia-Lorenzo, Lucia & Donnelly, Paul & Sell-Trujillo, Lucia & Imas, J. Miguel, 2018. "Liminal entrepreneuring: the creative practices of nascent necessity entrepreneurs," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 85141, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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